HONDA

Honda invests in a revolutionary driving simulator
Honda will become the first automaker in the world to adopt new technology with a state-of-the-art driving simulator, based on a revolutionary architecture called DiM250 (Driving in Motion).Most driving simulators make use of flight simulator-derived motion technology and generally use six motion triggers to provide six levels of freedom of movement. However, to accurately reproduce vehicle movement, handling and acceleration characteristics in a single simulator, the VI-grade Series DiM250 system uses nine motion triggers to create additional movement ranges, being unique in the industry."We expect to use the DiM250 primarily for the dynamics and motion applications of vehicles, as well as use it as a crucial tool to develop and test our ADAS systems, HMI and autonomous driving technologies earlier in the design process," said Yasunori Oku, executive vice president of Honda R & D Europe Germany. "DiM250 technology will provide an ideal joint development platform for our research and development activities where all the teams involved can work together in a single collaborative environment."The DiM250 system was designed by the creator of VI-grade simulator software and is designed and manufactured by the expert in automatic controls Saginomiya. Its nine electrically powered launcher platform is more advanced than the conventional six hexapod enablers and the entire system moves by sliding on airpads, rather than using additional rails. Airpads counterbalance high payloads and dynamic loads and help make the simulator extremely rigid, quiet and reliable.The integration of software-in-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-loop (HIL) applications in the simulator will allow designers and engineers to assess advances in the vehicle's development cycle before physical prototypes have been built. It will also allow the simulator to more closely mimic problematic scenarios for testing and controlling security systems.

Revolutionary VI-grade series dynamic driving simulation solutions provide engineers with a complete set of innovative and integrated driving simulators for a new generation approach to system-level simulation, allowing companies to bridge the gap between virtual prototypes and tests . The dynamic configuration provides motion feedback to the driver thanks to an innovative nine-level mobile platform with freedom of movement with reduced global dimensions and long distances.The architecture of the machine is called Driver in Motion (DiM) and its kinematics was designed, for the first time in the history of motion platforms, to best implement the queuing technology that was developed and tested by the VI-grade . This family of simulators is based on a much more compact and much less expensive driving simulation architecture compared to conventional simulators of similar size. In addition, these solutions are fully scalable, meaning that it is possible to upgrade from the static simulator to the dynamic simulator, reusing all components that have already been purchased. VI-grid driving simulation solutions are based on the VI-DriveSim, the product that provides the main software environment for all VI-grid driving simulation solutions.

Vasco Reis, Portugal